barrier VS vfio-kvm

For software KVM you can use https://github.com/debauchee/barrier

I use it between a Windows PC & a Macbookpro (Linux version available but I don't have Linux)

libei looks useful. But IDK why libei is necessary to run Barrier with Wayland?

For client systems, couldn't there just be a virtual /dev/inputXYZ that Barrier forwards events through

And for host systems, it looks like xev only logs input events when the window is focused.

Is xeyes still broken on Wayland, and how to fix it so that it would work with Barrier?

With Barrier, when the mouse cursor reaches a screen boundary, the keyboard and mouse input are then passed to a different X session on another box until the cursor again crosses a screen boundary rule.

Barrier is a fork of Synergy's open core: https://github.com/debauchee/barrier

libei:

I have a similar gaming/WFH setup (2 monitors at 1440p 144hz) and I’ve been using Barrier instead of a physical kvm, and it works really well. Not sure if you’re open to a software kvm but if you are, I’m happy to answer any questions about it if you have any.

Have you tried Barrier? I casually used it to swap between my main rig and my MBP. Took a minute to get it setup but once I sorted it all out it worked pretty well. It has some settings and tweaks built in to address some of the layout issues you mentioned...

Barrier appears to handle PC switching only for the keyboard and mouse.

Sorry, probably not entirely on topic and can't answer anything reliable about the multimonitor stuff, but a tip regarding the 2 mice and 2 keyboards for the 2 different computers: use this: https://github.com/debauchee/barrier It's oss multi-os software that lets you use one mouse and keyboard (server) on several PCs (clients) easily over your LAN.

Barrier is a free and open source alternative.

I wrote a tool a while back for managing VMs. It does a bit more but it would work for this situation. It will let you use any key or combo for triggering VMs.

I have a project that I wrote and use for managing my passthrough devices that can use an arbitrary hotkey. If you're an arch user, it's in the AUR. I have a new version in the works, but I'll happily help you with using it if you want.

This is the other tool I've seen that claims to do what you want but I've not personally used it https://github.com/dangle/akeydo

evdev would be the traditional way of handling a simple use case. If that's not working for you, or you want more features, I wrote a service called VFIO-KVM that you can try. It has the advantage of also being able to trigger programs (like ddccontrol for changing monitor inputs) when you switch between VMs.

I'm thinking about adding another example that would use the d-bus methods to switch the VM every 10 minutes or so.

Yes, those cards would work. You wouldn't need a hardware KVM either. I've written a small service that handles toggling between a host and a guest. Just one so far, but I'm adding multi-VM functionality because I have pretty much the same setup, although I'm using a small USB external video card for one host.

You've got a few options. I released a project not long ago specifically for this: vfio-kvm. It has a package on the AUR if you use Arch.